1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boot, particularly a sports boot, and more particularly to a boot adapted to be retained on a sports apparatus.
Boots of this type can be used in venues such as snowboarding, skiing, snowshoeing, walking on ice, roller skating, skateboarding, and the like.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
For certain sporting activities, it is advantageous that a boot be flexible.
In snowboarding, for example, a flexible boot makes it easier to walk or to perform style figures when steering a board.
As known, a boot extends longitudinally between a heel and a tip. The boot has a sole and an upper. Certain uppers have an outer envelope and an inner envelope, each having different characteristics. The outer envelope, for example, has a certain strength, waterproofness, or the like, whereas the inner envelope, for example, offers shock absorption, thermal comfort, or the like.
Generally, a mechanism for tightening the inner envelope can be provided. The tightening mechanism may include keepers that are affixed to the inner envelope, and a lace that runs through the keepers. Of course, the keepers are arranged such that a tensioning of the lace induces a tightening of the inner envelope. This enables the latter to better encircle the user's foot, and even the lower leg if the upper is a high upper.
Furthermore, a mechanism for tightening the outer envelope is generally provided. In this way, it is the entire upper that encircles the foot, and even the lower leg. On a boot of this type, and in spite of the double tightening system on the outer envelope and the inner envelope, it appears sometimes that the user's foot moves with respect to the upper when steering the apparatus. This is especially the case in snowboarding. The foot movements, particularly in the heel area, are interfering movements that disturb the steering of the apparatus. The steering impulses are not transferred directly or entirely from the user to the apparatus due to these interfering movements. This hinders the apparatus steering precision.